Funded by Birger Christensen, ITIF, Magna International, Oboro and Exposure New York

Identity/Identité, examined the role of language and culture in the identity of young Canadians. Working with emerging artists and high school and university students in Toronto and Montréal, we produced videos that were shown in galleries, a library and from storefronts in each city.

Each participant in Toronto was paired with a participant in Montréal. For three months the partners exchanged video dialogues about their personal and cultural identities. Throughout this time they also met in groups in each city. Working with text and visual materials they analyzed media and different approaches to advertising, news, music videos and other pop-culture materials. They also examined how culture is represented and expressed in art.

During the exhibition period the young artists had weekly dialogues about cultural identity via video teleconferencing sessions that were open to the public. The sessions were held at the University of Toronto and Concordia University in Montréal. A culminating video teleconferencing event included artists, students and the general public in New York City.